Connecticut voters say 56 - 34 percent that Gov. Jodi Rell "copped out" by her refusal to either
sign or veto the recently enacted state budget, and disapprove 52 - 42 percent of her handling of
the state budget, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

Gov. Rell gets a 59 - 34 percent overall approval rating, down from 65 - 30 percent in a
July 22 survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University. But she still does
better than governors in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio, states where Quinnipiac
University has conducted surveys in recent months.

And Connecticut's Governor has a much higher approval rating that the State Legislature,
which has a negative 35 - 55 percent score, its worst score since July 2003. Voters disapprove 61 -
28 percent of the way Democrats in the legislature are handling the state budget.

Voters split 45 - 44 percent in their approval of the way Rell is handling the job situation in
Connecticut and disapprove 49 - 44 percent of the way she is handling taxes.

"By a hefty 22-point margin, voters think that by allowing the budget to become law
without her signature or veto, Gov. Jodi Rell copped out," said Quinnipiac University Poll
Director Douglas Schwartz, PhD.

"Gov. Rell's approval is down six points to 59 percent. She has hit an all-time low,
although neighboring governors would love to have those numbers.

"Democrats can't take comfort in these numbers, since their score on the budget is much
lower than the Governor's."

"But Democrats might hope that the Rell juggernaut finally has hit a pothole, which could
set the stage for a competitive race for Governor next year."

"There was some thought that with Sen. Christopher Dodd's reelection campaign
dominating the headlines that nobody would pay much attention to the Democratic candidates
for Governor, ensuring another landslide victory for Rell," Dr. Schwartz added.

"If her job approval continues to decline, that could change."

Connecticut voters disapprove 45 - 26 percent of the new state budget. On other
budget-related questions the Quinnipiac University poll finds:

Voters who disapprove of Rell's failure to act on the budget say 54 - 34 percent that she
should have vetoed it;

Voters split 46 - 44 percent on whether more budget cuts should have been made or
whether additional cuts would have jeopardized vital services;

Voters feel 48 - 45 percent that state leaders should have kept working on the budget, no
matter how long it took;

81 percent of voters are "very concerned" or "somewhat concerned" that the budget relies
too much on borrowing.

Key elements of the budget receive wide voter support, including:

74 - 24 percent in favor of higher taxes for upper income individuals and families;

"Among those who disapprove of Gov. Rell's decision to not sign the budget bill, most
think she should have vetoed it," Schwartz said. "Nearly half of voters think spending could
have been cut more; two-thirds disapprove of cutting estate taxes for the wealthy and over 80
percent are concerned about the level of borrowing."

From September 10 - 14, Quinnipiac University surveyed 921 Connecticut registered
voters with a margin of error of +/- 3.2 percentage points.

The Quinnipiac University Poll conducts public opinion surveys in New York, New Jersey,
Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio and the nation as a public service and for research.
For more data and RSS feed - http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, or call (203) 582-5201.

13. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Jodi Rell is handling her job as
governor?

20. How likely are you to vote to re-elect Jodi Rell for governor in 2010 - do
you think you will definitely vote for her, probably vote for her, probably not
vote for her, or definitely not vote for her?

TREND: How likely are you to vote to re-elect Jodi Rell for governor in 2010, do
you think you will definitely vote for her, probably vote for her, probably not
vote for her, or definitely not vote for her?

35. Which comes closer to your point of view - this isn't a perfect budget, but
I'm relieved the state finally has one, or this budget has big problems and the
state should have kept working on it no matter how long it took?

36. Do you think that Governor Rell's fight for more spending cuts and fewer tax
increases made the Democrats pass a better budget than they would have, or do
you think it just slowed down the budget process unnecessarily?

38. (INTRO to Q38-41, order rotated) Please tell me whether you approve or
disapprove of the following items in the state budget.
Do you approve or disapprove of - raising the income tax on individuals who earn
more than 500,000 dollars annually and couples who earn more than one million
dollars annually?